I will never ever forget our first date. As we pulled into the Red Robin parking lot, I was mid-sentence of a an embarrassing story that happened to me when Kenny jumped out of the car. I was just about to think "well, that was really rude" when I realized he was trying to open the car door for me, which I had somehow accidentally locked and couldn't figure out how to unlock. That was really embarrassing. Then after our meal, he paid for our dinner and movie with a coupon and a gift card he had received from winning our high school's rock, paper, scissors competition. That's when I knew that I loved him.

A couple days after my 17th birthday, I was feeling a bit gloomy and missed Kenny a bit more than usual. And just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse and nearly started crying, I received a call from Kenny, who I had not heard from all day. After asking how I was, he asked me to take a step outside and then immediately hung up the phone. I opened my front door and saw him standing in my lawn with the biggest smile ever. My day was instantly brighter and I couldn't stop smiling.

From the day Kenny left for basic training in late November until Christmas Eve, I cried at some point every day! But before he had left, he gave me some very simple instructions: find something I liked and pursue it. Well, until Christmas day, I had no idea what that thing was. But then on Christmas morning, my parents pointed out a large box under the tree labeled "From:Kenny." Inside was a brand new classical guitar. The idea behind the gift was as wonderful as the guitar itself. After Christmas, I never cried over missing Kenny. And two weeks later, I started guitar lessons.

After being together for more than a year and some months, I knew I was going to marry Alexandria. The question was just when! After careful planning I decided that I was going to propose when I went on my Christmas leave. In the months leading up to me coming home, I talked with a custom jeweler about making a custom, vintage, and unique ring for such a special girl. It took 2 months to gather the materials and make the ring, but thankfully it was finished just before I left. When I got home I spent a couple days enjoying time with Alexandria and loving the Christmas atmosphere. The next night I sat down with her parents and talked for 2 hours or more about the future and what plans we had in store and by the end of our conversation, I had their permission and blessing which I will be eternally grateful for. A couple days pass and on the night of the 20th of December she came over to spend time with my family. After we had finished, we decides to get some coffee at Calypso's. When we arrived, I planned on getting our coffee and going, but that night they had open mic performances and Alexandria wanted to stay. So there I was all nervous trying to relax and drink my coffee and soon enough we were on our way. We walked through a cold evening to the other side of the Coeur d' Alene resort's floating boardwalk. As we walked up to the entrance I noticed a small sign that said the boardwalk was closed due to ice and snow. So being the little rebellious, we went under the chain and continued our walk. When we got to the top of one of the bridges, we leaned against the rails and saw the marvelous beauty of the snow, the Christmas lights, and the beautiful lake. At that moment, I told her how much she meant to me and that I promise to love her forever and ever. As I proceeded to get down on one knee I started to ask her the question, but she wouldn't even let me finish before she kissed me! But I knew that in her heart 'yes' was an understatement. <3